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Senator Barack Obama is not wasting any time hitting the campaign trail. After formally announcing his run for the presidency in Illinois, Obama headed to Iowa, the state where democrats will hold their first presidential test in the nation in January 2008. Barack Obama started his presidential campaign on Saturday (February 11), in Cedar Rapids, Iowa and the road ahead for the only black U.S. senator will be very competitive as the field is already loaded with nominees very early on in the primary season, most notably New York Sen Hillary Clinton. Winning the Iowa caucus is considered especially important for presidential hopefuls, since candidates must make a majority of the almost 2,000 caucuses, instead of a statewide primary. In 2004 voters saw just how critical Iowa was when Howard Dean, who was widely thought of as a frontrunner for the Democratic nomination, lost after screeching and ultimately lost his spot to John Kerry. Recent polls show Clinton receiving more favorable ratings for her experience while Obama has been considered more "likeable" than Clinton. Terry MCauliffe, former head of the Democratic National Committee and member of Clinton' staff believes that candidates for Democratic nomination will have to raise at least 35 million dollars by year's end to remain contenders. Former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards, who declared his candidacy last month has already been campaigning in the state. Furthermore, in addition to several other candidates ...